Dear friends,
Christ is risen! And He is alive and at work in our world today! One of our mainstay prayers in the mission to which God has called us in Europe has always been, “Lord, show us what You are doing, and help us to get in on that.” During the first quarter of 2023, a number of Spirit-directed trajectories opened up before us.
Prayer Weekend – Helsinki, Finland
The annual Students for Christ-Europe Prayer Weekend was organized by colleagues in Helsinki, Finland this January. An encouraging time of prayer and deep fellowship in the leadership network, as usual, God spoke specifically to the hearts of a number of folks, confirming their call and boosting their faith for continued service in university ministry. Our friend and historian, Cédric Placentino, explained the influence of Christianity on the nation of Finland during our walking tour of Helsinki. (above)
Open Doors in Stockholm
Also in January, Blair took on a coaching role for an international church’s leadership team in Sweden. This new development has led to relationship-building on multiple levels. Josiah tagged along, attended a local youth meeting (in Swedish! a new experience for him) on Friday evening and helped lead worship at Stockholm Community Church on Sunday.
Exploring opportunities in Bosnia-Herzegovina
Back in the air in February, the next stop was Bosnia-Herzegovina. Blair preached at a local church in Sarajevo, visited with colleagues Curt & Sara Hobbs regarding student ministry strategies and made new, God-ordained connections.
Accompanying once more, Josiah and Dad experienced a first together – cross-country skiing on the 1984 Olympic trails of former Yugoslavia.
A ‘Sarajevo Rose’ – a concrete ‘scar’ from a mortar shell that has been filled with red resin to commemorate a spot where at least 3 people lost their lives during the siege of Sarajevo (1992-96).
Representing SFC at the PEF
In March, Blair traveled to Warsaw, Poland, where colleague Kurtis Denton and he represented SFC-Europe at the annual Pentecostal European Fellowship. They were also interviewed about student ministry for a national publication of the Pentecostal movement in the Czech Republic.
Île de la Réunion
In a final episode of what “seemed good to the Holy Spirit and to us”, following quite a bit of itinerary upheaval (vive French and Belgian public transportation strikes!) and 24+ hours of travel, a student ministry week on Reunion Island (in the Indian Ocean off the coast of Africa) proved to be most fruitful and Kingdom-advancing.
Enjoying some island creole cooking, very similar to south Louisiana!
Speaking to leaders (above) and a tropical sunset (below)
Along with the very heavy travel schedule, our steady weekly stream of virtual meetings for student ministry collaboration, mentoring, and other admin activity continues, as well as Blair’s involvement with the Belgian national church movement in speaking and teaching roles, and Josiah’s participation on two different local church worship teams.
Prayer Requests:
- Thank you for praying for each SFC-affiliated ministry across Europe: for new believers to be welcomed in and new leaders to be called.
- CONNECT ’23 preparations are in full swing! Please pray for His wisdom and help as we gear up for this summer training conference with our awesome planning team.
- Back in February, Dina visited her parents in Louisiana and helped with some of the care-giving for her mom who suffers with Parkinson’s. We will all be returning to the US for a brief visit soon to not only once again check in on our parents, but also to attend our son David’s graduation from SAGU in Texas. We appreciate your continued prayer for us and our family as we navigate the blessings and challenges of life far from loved ones.
Pulled along by the Spirit, we press on in this mission, thanking God for your partnership.
Merci beaucoup!
Blair, Dina & Josiah